Dreams Claimed (Warfield's Landing, #1) (11 page)

He figured the antique Oriental rug had seen more abuse than this in its hundred plus years, but it still got his sympathy.

CeeCee and Luke had been his best friends. They provided the support that his family never gave him... ever since they met at boarding school in the 7th grade. They were the new kids, they hadn’t fit in, and more importantly, they hadn’t wanted to.

It had been the three of them against the world through junior high, high school, college, and law school. He’d gone on for his MBA while the other two started their law careers, but as Luke liked to tease, they hadn’t held the MBA against him.

“I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this.” CeeCee’s voice was tight.

She’d had been through a rough time recently.

At the reading of her husband’s will, a younger woman had appeared out of nowhere, figuratively speaking. No one knew what her relationship had been with the deceased, especially his new widow. The unknown woman received a major bequest, but the bigger insult in CeeCee’s mind was that she’d also been given a seat on the board of Jamie’s Foundation. Neither he nor Luke had been able to attend the reading of the will, something which they regretted after it turned out to be such a difficult time for CeeCee.

CeeCee had voiced her suspicions that the woman had had an affair with her husband, but Daniel preferred to reserve judgment for the moment. He hadn’t met the mysterious woman, and didn’t know anything about her, but he did know CeeCee’s husband. Jamie’d been a major asshole at times, but he’d loved CeeCee deeply.

Right now, Daniel wasn’t quite sure what had set CeeCee off, but he figured she’d be sharing with him shortly... and in exquisite detail.

When she spun around and put her hands on her hips, he knew he was about to find out.

“Glenn called me. THAT WOMAN has asked for a special meeting of the Foundation.”

Daniel put on his earnestly interested face.

“It seems” her voice dripped with sarcasm, “that she has a PROPOSAL to make.”

A tall, beautiful blonde, CeeCee could strike fear in men’s hearts, which is why she was such a good entertainment lawyer. She protected her clients’ interests like a mama bear and cleaned her teeth with the bones of opposing counsel. At times like this, he found himself grateful that she’d never turned on him or Luke.

She was pacing again. She’d received the call from Glenn while at work and was still in her impeccably cut business suit and sky high heels. Her hair was knotted at the nape of her neck and not a strand was out of place.

“When is the meeting, Cee? We’ll make sure one of us is there for you.” They both knew that he was referring to himself and Luke.

“It’s on the 11th, in DC.”

Daniel pulled out his schedule. He was relieved. He’d be available. “I’m due home then, so I’ll delay a day or so and fly back with you. I’ll tag along and wait for you, if they won’t let me in the meeting.” He smiled as he said it.

He had no idea whether Glenn would allow him to sit in and it didn’t matter to him, as long as he was there to offer CeeCee the support she needed, all was good.

*****

D
aniel escorted CeeCee into the hotel. They’d taken the Amtrak train from New York and gotten into Union Station in Washington, DC on schedule. After a quick lunch, they were at the Ritz Carlton - Georgetown.

Glenn had arranged for a conference room. Daniel didn’t know why this hotel had been chosen but he was grateful. He’d be able to grab a cab to handle their luggage and get CeeCee back to her Georgetown townhouse quickly. He had a feeling this meeting was going to be tough on her.

Glenn had also allowed Daniel to sit in the meeting with CeeCee. She’d taken her place at the foot of the conference table, befitting her status as Great Man’s widow. Daniel had pulled up a chair behind her and to the left, so he could see what was happening.

He knew the other three board members present, through his relationship with CeeCee. There was one board member unaccounted for—CeeCee’s nemesis, “THAT WOMAN”.

Daniel found himself curious about what she’d be like. He figured she didn’t have the horns and fangs that CeeCee had attributed to her, but... you never knew.

The opposite end of the table had three chairs drawn up and the table had been pulled further back in the room. He assumed that it was to make room for the presentation CeeCee had been sneering about.

The meeting was scheduled to start in about five minutes, so the presenters and missing board member still had time to arrive without being late. Barely.

CeeCee was prompt in all things, and he figured this tardiness would provide even more ammunition for diatribes when they got back to her townhouse.

The door opened and a tall figure strode into the room, a portfolio in one hand and a folded easel in the other. Daniel looked at him, blinked in surprise, then caught sight of two female figures at the rear.

As his poor brain processed the unexpected data, his heart sank. It was Thomas Mallory, his wife — what was her name? Karyn... and last but not least, Nic. His heart skipped as it always did when he saw her, and then his brain caught up. What was Nic doing here?

CeeCee straightened with a hiss and Daniel’s world came crashing down around his ears.

Like a slow motion train wreck he was helpless to stop, he watched Nic step across to the table, place the armful of folders she was carrying on it and take a quick look around.

She was smiling shyly at the board members. Her smile faltered when she reached CeeCee. And, no wonder... he could feel his best friend’s animosity rolling off of her in waves.

He knew the moment she saw him. Her slight smile broadened and her eyes brightened. There was a sudden pain in his knee. Startled, he looked down to see that CeeCee had dropped her hand to his leg in a clearly possessive gesture, her long nails digging in painfully.

He looked back at Nic. She was staring at the hand, and the smile was gone. She caught his eye, raising a brow. She’d have looked casually questioning, if not for her pallor.

Thomas moved in front of Nic and leaned down, speaking quietly. She listened and responded, then moved over to the papers she’d dropped on the table. Thomas looked over his shoulder at Daniel, stared pointedly at CeeCee’s hand still on his knee and glared.

CeeCee gave a final squeeze, leaving marks—he was sure, and released her hold. Back at the head of the table, Karyn looked daggers at him.

If he hadn’t been sure that any future with Nic was now categorically destroyed, he’d have been sitting back and enjoying the humor in the situation. Running the events of the past three months, he realized that he’d always referred to Courtney as CeeCee and CeeCee had never called “The Other Woman” by name. Likewise, he’d referred to Nic as “My Little Artist”.

Altogether it had been a perfect storm of misunderstanding, and he feared it was likely to ruin his life.

As he struggled with some way to stave off disaster, Glenn stepped to the front of the room and announced the beginning of the board meeting for the Maxfield Hayes Foundation.

N
ic was thankful Thomas and Karyn were sitting at the conference table near her, ready to help if she needed it.

She was also grateful the three of them had rehearsed her presentation several times over the last few days. In spite of the intense shock that she’d just received — seeing Daniel with Courtney, Max’s widow, she was confident that she’d still be able to give a passable presentation.

Inwardly, she shrugged. Nic reminded herself that there were options, if the board refused to help. All she needed was help finding and vetting new artists, and there were many alternatives available. It had been out of respect for Max that she’d come to the Foundation first.

Glenn started the meeting, and passed the reins to her.

She turned her back on the board members, fussed a bit with the renderings sitting on the easel and then stepping to the side, she began to speak.

“As you may or may not know, I received my MFA in Painting several years ago. While grad school is certainly a challenge,” she smiled and looked around the room, “Making the transition into the real world is even harder.”

“I was fortunate. I moved here to the DC area and found a job at a graphic design firm until I was juried into the Torpedo Factory.

“Many newly minted MFAs are not that lucky. Leaving the nurturing environment of art school can mean losing any hope of a successful and self-supporting career.

“In many cases, a transition plan—offering free housing, a supportive atmosphere, along with needed resources—would make all the difference between living life as a productive artist and...” She paused for effect, “becoming a cab driver.”

Courtney Hayes moved restlessly in her chair at the cab driver comment. Nic had deliberately chosen that reference. The other board members were longtime friends of Maxfield Hayes and his early tenure as a cabbie was an often cited part of his “Great Artist” mystique.

Nic wanted the help that the Foundation could give her and she was campaigning hard... using every trick in the book.

Turning back the cover sheet on the first rendering, she displayed a long shot of the Warfield’s Landing school building. The color pencil sketch showed the building as it would look, when the renovations were complete.

“This is an old school in Warfield’s Landing, Maryland, along the Susquehanna River, right off I-95 and near the Delaware state line. It’s in the process of being converted into small condos with studios attached.”

She pulled the current rendering off of the easel and placed it on the table, then flipped the cover back on the next one, revealing a board with two illustrated floorplans.

Pointing with a pen, she showed the apartments and studios while she explained what was planned.

“The first floor has four one bedroom condo/studio units. The two classrooms at the front end of the building will be used as classrooms for weekend workshops or similar activities.”

Moving to the next floorplan, “Here is the second floor. Again, there are four one bedroom units, and over the first floor classrooms we have two one bedroom units without attached studios. They may be used for artists who have studio space in a different part of the facility or for writers, or maybe visiting teachers.”

Gesturing toward the back of both floorplans, “Here on the first floor, we have a much larger three bedroom apartment and studio for an artist with a family. The corresponding unit on the second floor will be my personal space.”

She placed that rendering on the table and revealed the next one. “Several blocks away from the school, on the main street of Warfield’s Landing, we’ve purchased a storefront with four apartments above. This will provide Gallery and office space, along with a potential income stream from the apartments.”

“The buildings have been purchased and construction has begun. We anticipate that the school will be ready for occupancy in early January. The Gallery space may be ready even before that.”

Nic smiled and glanced around the room again. She had been so intent on her presentation, she had almost forgotten that Daniel was there with Courtney Hayes. Almost. Ruthlessly she pulled her thoughts away. Focus, Nic, focus.

She took a breath. As she started to speak again, a hard voice interrupted.

“I have a question.”

Of course it was Courtney. Nic kept the smile on her face. She’d regained her confidence during her presentation. This was too important to allow Courtney to put her off track.

She felt sorry for Courtney. The way Max had tied Courtney’s inheritance to her - Nic’s - acceptance of her own, still made her blood boil, but, this project was something she was willing to fight for.

Nic nodded to acknowledge Courtney and smiled, consciously relaxing her jaw.

“What are you asking the board for? Money?”

Well, that was coming out swinging. Nic was determined to hold the high road.

She hadn’t finished her presentation, but clearly, she needed to address this... now. She made sure her tone was even and reasonable.

“Ideally, I’d like the Foundation to help find and vet candidates. Initially, I’d expect most of the candidates to come from other Hayes Foundation programs. Down the road, we may be able to reach out to additional Arts organizations.”

Nic looked around to see how the other board members were responding to this exchange. “If the Foundation chooses to help with stipends of some kind, that would be appreciated, but it isn’t necessary.”

“Because you’re using my husband’s money.” The tone of voice was vicious. From the corner of her eye, Nic saw Karyn put a calming hand on Thomas’s arm.

Nic forced a smile, again. It was time she showed that she couldn’t be pushed around. While her sympathies lay with Courtney, no matter what the other woman though... she wasn’t going to be anyone’s doormat.

“No,” she said evenly. “I’m using the money your husband left me.”

That did it...

Daniel grabbed Courtney’s arm as she rose in her seat. Nic held her ground. After all, there was a large conference table between them.

Glenn, Max’s executor and chairman of the Foundation board stood and called for order. Eventually, there was quiet... although calm had left the building.

“Thank you for your presentation, Nic. This is a very intriguing opportunity you’ve offered the Foundation. Does anyone else have questions regarding this program?”

The discussion that followed was respectful and straightforward. Thomas and Karyn each answered a couple of questions about the actual building projects.

In spite of everything, Nic felt that she’d been able to present a good case for her project.

The truth was, she didn’t need the Foundation to make all this happen. If necessary, she could put together a staff to find and screen potential candidates, but doing so would take time away from her own painting, which she was trying to avoid.

A short while later, she, Thomas, and Karyn were packing up their presentation materials. The board had voted and there had only been one dissenting vote. It was Courtney’s but that didn’t surprise anyone.